This evocative and nostalgic book, now available for the first time in paperback, celebrates the golden age of sea travel. Once the world's largest and fastest ocean liner by far, today the Queen Mary represents a peak of perfection in the art of shipbuilding.

With her sleek, sophisticated lines, Art Deco interiors and exquisite detailing, she encapsulates the spirit of an era characterized by elegance and style. On her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1936, this great new liner provided a tangible symbol of the end of the Depression, to become a source of great national pride.

Beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned colour photographs and much previously unpublished archive material, this book captures the atmosphere of the Queen Mary's glory days, to present a comprehensive record of this magnificent and unique floating example of the streamlined style: it remains equally appealing to the enthusiastic connoisseur and general aesthete alike.

In The Press

'Wonderfully detailed. Scrupulous research.' (New York Times)

'Anyone who has ever wondered if architecture floats will be convinced by this beautiful, fact-filled book about the last and grandest architecture ever to sail the bounding main. With Steele's intense research, we almost feel like were there.' (AIA Jury)

About the author(s)

James Steele is an architectural writer and historian based in Los Angeles, where the Queen Mary is currently moored. His books include Architecture Today and Los Angeles Architecture, both also published by Phaidon.